SOLICITATION¾ ADVERTISEMENT BY POLITICAL CANDIDATE¾An attorney seeking an elective public office may ethically
advertise his political candidacy in publications of either general or limited
distribution.

The Council of Senior Citizens, a nonprofit corporate organization, is governed by a
Board of Trustees and publishes a monthly newspaper to inform its members of matters of
special interest to them. One of the Trustees is an attorney and a Judge. He is running
for reelection and has an opponent.

1. Is it ethical for the Judge to advertise his candidacy in the Council's paper?

2. Is it ethical for his opponent to so advertise?

3. Is it ethical for the Judge to include in his advertisement in the Council paper the
fact that he is a member of the Council's Board of Trustees?

Opinion

While Canon 24 prohibits any type of advertisement
or solicitation of professional employment by an attorney, it is well settled that
political advertising by an attorney who is a candidate for public office does not violate
Canon 24 so long as the advertising is conducted in a dignified manner and is not designed
as a means of seeking professional employment. Drinker, Legal Ethics, page 248;
Texas Opinions 103 (September, 1954) and 210 (December, 1960); ABA Opinion 74 (August, 1932), and
ABA Informal Decisions 529 (March, 1962), 656 (May, 1963), 707 (December, 1963) and 795
(April, 1965.) Thus, it is clear that both the incumbent Judge and his opponent may
ethically advertise their political candidacy in the Council's newspaper. (8-0.)

One member of the Committee feels that it would be improper for the incumbent Judge to
include in his advertisement the fact that he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the
Council since same would be in the nature of self-laudation. Canon 24, however, prohibits
self-laudation only as an indirect solicitation of professional employment and since the
apparent purpose in this instance would be to solicit votes rather than professional
employment, the majority of the Committee is of the opinion that the Judge would not
violate Canon 24 by including in his advertisement the fact that he is a Trustee of the
Council. (7-1.)

The foregoing opinion is limited to the Canons of Ethics governing the conduct of
attorneys and we express no opinion as to any question of judicial ethics.